07-08 Philadelphia Flyers Season Thread

[rjs246]

montreal may have been the 1 seed...but the Pens are playing the best hockey right now.  not saying they can't beat them, but the pens are the hottest team right now, aside from the Flyers.  should be a great series.  it all depends on the goalies.

Most of this is accurate. Except for the last sentence....

(I just wrote a lot of shtein that I decided to erase because it didn't make any sense. farg you. But what I wrote was sort of awesome and mostly added up to me saying that "The Flyers have a chance against Pittsburgh, but not a great chance. And anyone in their right mind would put the odds against them. But even though I would love to bet against them and make some money, I can't. So suck it.")

I'm a scholar.

[ice grillin you]

Yeah? so? You've been doubting them since then, so as Grand Puba says "Slow Down"

me doubting them doesnt make you look like less of a bandwagoneer......slow your roll chief

[MDS]

only i had this team going all the way. go mark biron and dave brierey!!

[SD_Eagle5]

btw is there anything gayer than the montreal fans ole ing their team after the game...after they fell on their faces.....hilarious.....dumbasses

Meant to mention that, while I was never a big fan of the ole' chant it had its place in soccer, bringing it to hockey was just awful. As for metal at the Flyers game they're just playing to their crowd...Mike Wise wasn't that far off. I like the Bro Hym from Pennywise when the Flyers score...its much better than the other gay songs they played. The U2 crap is hilarious to me because it plays to the french canadian Hoyda image I have of their fans.

[Rome]

eastern conference finals.  i can't farging believe it.

btw: a canadien fan told me i was the most obnoxious fan he'd ever seen or heard last night.   

[SunMo]

eastern conference finals.  i can't farging believe it.

btw: a canadien fan told me i was the most obnoxious fan he'd ever seen or heard last night.   

he probably thought he was insulting you and didn't realize it was the best compliment you've heard in 6 months

[SunMo]

montreal may have been the 1 seed...but the Pens are playing the best hockey right now.  not saying they can't beat them, but the pens are the hottest team right now, aside from the Flyers.  should be a great series.  it all depends on the goalies.

Most of this is accurate. Except for the last sentence....

(I just wrote a lot of shtein that I decided to erase because it didn't make any sense. farg you. But what I wrote was sort of awesome and mostly added up to me saying that "The Flyers have a chance against Pittsburgh, but not a great chance. And anyone in their right mind would put the odds against them. But even though I would love to bet against them and make some money, I can't. So suck it.")

I'm a scholar.

im pretty sure whatever you wrote wasn't any longer than your gay explanation...

[rjs246]

I'm pretty sure your face sucks.

[Rome]

oh, he was definitely insulting me.  nothing like being insulted in broken french/english, though.

the fact that his wife was hitting on me for an hour straight put him over the top, i think, in terms of calling me an icehole.

[SunMo]

I'm pretty sure your face sucks.

it sucks beer bottles!

[Seabiscuit36]

[ice grillin you]

i was reading the montreal gazette today they are not happy...but they dropped a pretty crazy stat...umberger had  eight goals on twenty shots in the series

[BigEd76]

FWIW, Montreal's #1 regular season power play (24%) was only 9% in the Boston series while the Flyers stayed close to their regular one (22%), it took them 7 games to beat a #8 seed that they swept 8-0 in the regular season, and as awesome as he's been, Carey Price is still a rookie and was brutal in games 5 and 6.  You never know...

looks like I do know 



Saw today that apparently there was a condition in the Prospal trade that if the Flyers somehow made the EC finals, they lose their 2009 2nd-rd pick to Tampa Bay.  Oops...

[BigEd76]

this aint the juniors anymore dorothy...im not saying he wont dominate and hes not gonna have a monumental melt down but if he is off for a couple games like last series then the flyers can extend this series.....of course thats if biron doesnt implode himself


espns take...


The Montreal Canadiens go from an emotional Original Six tilt to a series with a longtime playoff foe from yesteryear in the Philadelphia Flyers. The Boston Bruins certainly threw a scare into the Habs, taking them to a Game 7.

The series revealed that rookie Montreal netminder Carey Price is all he's cracked up to be, and that he's human. The series also revealed that while this Habs team is talented, it is extremely young and learning on the go. This time, the Habs once again will be heavy favorites facing another hardscrabble team that has bucked the odds.


Last season, the Flyers finished dead last in the NHL. They then retooled under GM Paul Holmgren, trading for the rights to Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell and signing Daniel Briere as a free agent. A week before the playoffs began, the Flyers were life and death to even qualify for the postseason. But they jumped into the sixth seed and, after blowing a 3-1 series lead, managed to oust the Capitals after a Game 7 overtime winner from Joffrey Lupul, another newcomer to the Philly lineup this season.

FIVE POINTS TO SERIES
 
1. Carey Price, Part II. Price rebounded from two mortal performances in Games 5 and 6 to record his second shutout of the series in the deciding game. Ups and downs are part of the playoffs, and Price seems like the kind of player who easily puts uneven performances behind him. In some ways, he'll be facing his alter ego in Martin Biron. The Flyers netminder is a decade older than the 20-year-old rookie, but, like Price, is emerging from his first playoff series victory.


2. Whither Alexei Kovalev? There was, among some hockey observers, a strong sentiment that Kovalev deserved some consideration for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. There's no question the talented Russian winger was instrumental in the Habs' surprising climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. He not only produced points (84 to lead the team), but he also helped tutor young Russian stars Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov. But Kovalev seemed absent, in spirit if not physically, for stretches during the first round, including a minus-3 effort in Game 6. Coach Guy Carbonneau put Kovalev on a line with captain Saku Koivu and Chris Higgins in Game 7 and that paid dividends as Kovalev chipped in two assists, both at even strength. The Habs will need more of that if they hope to fulfill what fans believe is their destiny of returning to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1993.


3. Are those pylons or defensemen? For much of the Washington/Philadelphia series, forwards seemed to be swirling around defensemen like water around a rock. The Flyers' defensive corps isn't going to get much of a break against Montreal. While the Habs don't have an Alexander Ovechkin or a Mike Green, they do have three dangerous, fast offensive lines that will do their best to take advantage of the Flyers' lack of mobility on the blue line. Expect Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, who both played most of the time against the Ovechkin line, to try and match up against the Kovalev line.


4. Welcome home, Danny Boy. Daniel Briere has incurred the wrath of Montreal fans ever since he signed with Philadelphia last summer instead of joining the Habs. He'll no doubt get a warm reception from the Bell Centre faithful throughout the series. Not that it'll bother the talented center. Still, with Mike Knuble out indefinitely (hamstring), there is more pressure on Briere not just to produce points, but also to be a leader in the dressing room. He leads all playoff performers with 11 points in the postseason.


5. The buzz factor. These are two cities starved for playoff success. The Flyers advanced to the 2004 Eastern Conference finals, but haven't been to a Stanley Cup final since 1997 and haven't won it all since 1975. Montreal is the last Canadian team to hoist the Cup, but that was back in 1993. They haven't been close to winning another since. Yet, in Montreal and the entire province of Quebec, there is a sense of destiny surrounding this team. Whether that puts too much pressure on the young Canadiens or serves as motivation, time will tell.


KEY MATCH-UP
 
• Montreal power play vs. Philadelphia penalty killers: Although Montreal boasted the top-ranked power-play unit during the regular season, it was impotent against the Bruins (3-for-33). The Habs should enjoy more power-play time given their speed (that's how you draw penalties), but if they can't capitalize, it will give the Flyers life as it did the Bruins.


HOT & NOT
 
• Canadiens: Rookie Sergei Kostitsyn has a share of the team lead with six points, and he's also plus-4. Big winger Guillaume Latendresse has zero points and is a team-worst minus-3.


• Flyers: Vaclav Prospal, picked up at the trade deadline from Tampa to play with Briere, has nine points. Joffrey Lupul's overtime winner in Game 7 was his first of the postseason.


PREDICTION
 
The Flyers have depth up front, but they'll miss Knuble's leadership. Their defense can be exploited by Montreal's speed, and the Habs should have an edge in goaltending. Montreal in five.

good job ESPN

[Seabiscuit36]

http://pics.livejournal.com/0708playoffs/gallery/0000kx4w  tons of pics